Short story collections, like novellas, come and go in fashions.
To a degree I expect it depends on genre, but both of these formats are currently very much en vogue again on the underground literary scene with dozens of indie publishers putting them out. I suppose most of these small presses consider what they do to be literary fiction. But I have noticed a large number in the noir and crime genres, also.
Other types of fiction seem to be fairly negligable in shorter formats.
My new collection We Are Glass includes three or four stories that previously appeared in the small presses, together with a majority of never before published pieces.
I have heard a number of theories expressed on the current renaissance of shorter fiction formats - including the fact that the attention span of readers has become shorter. It appears to be directly in line with the increased pace of life and the rise of fast food establishments. It's a theory, anyway.
The very best way to promote any book, in my experience, is to make one's self interesting and do interviews. You have to sell yourself.
it also depends on our own expectations. A writer is a fool to think it's going to make him a milionaire. The vast majority of writers never in their life earn even enough from writing to make it their primary source of income. It is literally one in a million who makes it.
So it depends how you measure success. They say short story collections don't sell. But to have a publisher fund putting my book out and then seeing it sell is, I feel, quite a success in itself. I see a hundred copies sell in a month and feel good about it.
Also (of course) I rather like my stories and think there's just a chance others will too.
